Up For The Cup

All eyes turn to Wembley for the FA Cup Final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City and we take a look back at some special moments from the past.

Up For The Cup

At the risk of sounding like one of those annoying people who like to harp on about ‘the good old days’, FA Cup final days really aren’t the same any more.

Whole afternoon TV schedules used to be given up to focus on the big event. Fans were shown travelling down, team buses were followed, the path to the final of each team was dissected in minute detail and players were profiled to give viewers a real feel of the people behind the drama. In short, stories were created and bonds were formed. This is what made the journey of teams like Wimbledon in 1988 and Crystal Palace in 1990 even more special.

Obviously, due to the internet and social media, we already know a lot more about the private and social lives of players more readily these days anyway but that doesn’t mean people at home don’t want to find out more. Journalists and presenters are still more than capable of finding an interesting hook and it would surely be more interesting to watch this than yet another rerun of The Chase (no offence Bradley) before the obligatory hour of build up that we get before any other normal game.

Fair enough there aren’t actually any Premier League games being played on the same day this year, which has been the case in the past, but there is also the big issue of kick-off time. For me it should remain at the traditional time of 3pm and this shouldn’t be affected by TV advertisers or anyone else. There has been some compromise this year of having it at 4:30pm rather than even later so at least travelling fans can make the last train home but supporters, those that actually make the whole thing worthwhile, certainly aren’t at the forefront of thinking any more.

We all know that the magic of the cup was lost somewhere along the line when ‘big’ teams started resting first team players during earlier rounds (although technically this should by default raise the chance of one of those great cup upsets that we all love so much) and also when the special feeling of going to Wembley was watered down by holding the semi-finals there as well. However, cup final day still remains one of the major events on the British sporting calendar.

Fans of all clubs still strive to win silverware and the FA Cup is still the second most prized domestic trophy behind the Premier League. There is also still the bonus of qualification for European competition although this has also been somewhat diluted by the fact that it seems anything up to eight or nine teams can secure this through league positioning now too.

We also don’t get the joy of the teams releasing FA Cup final singles any more. Few can forget the likes of John Barnes and Bruce Grobbelaar hamming it up in the video for ‘The Anfield Wrap’ or the incredibly catchy tune of Manchester United’s ‘Come On You Reds’. Some may argue that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

Regardless of all of this, for those of us of a certain age, the cup still holds many special memories. One of my earliest football recollections was hearing my Dad cheering when Stuart Pearce scored a belter of a free-kick to put Nottingham Forest ahead against Spurs in 1991’s showpiece event. My Dad wasn’t a huge watcher of football so I think this is why this occurrence has stuck with me and I have already previously waxed lyrical about the impact that Liverpool winning the following year had on my own footballing preferences.

Thinking of my own team in cup finals also brings back wonderful thoughts such as Michael Owen ripping apart Arsenal in 2001 and Steven Gerrard dragging Liverpool back from the dead to beat West Ham in 2006. It also brings back not so great ones too such as an Eric Cantona strike downing Liverpool in 1996 or Chelsea putting it beyond the grasp of the Reds in 2012 with a goal from Didier Drogba, one of an incredible three FA Cup deciding strikes that he scored for his team.

In years when I had no vested personal interest, I still always tuned in to watch and, as ever, would inevitably root for the underdog, even if it meant supporting those that were normally rivals. I cheered as loudly as anyone in 1995 when Paul Rideout scored a header on the rebound to help Everton past Manchester United. It was the lesser of two evils after all!

I was even more delirious when Ben Watson scored a last minute header that allowed Wigan to down Manchester City in 2013 to provide one of the biggest cup final upsets ever, certainly in modern times. This feeling of joy was despite Watson’s side having beaten Millwall (who I was following at the time) in a match I attended in the semi-final.

Even when the underdog lost or two bigger teams made the final there were moments that stood out such as Roberto Di Matteo dipping a thundering strike over Middlesbrough’s Ben Roberts inside a minute in 1997 or Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg both scoring brilliant goals as Arsenal beat Chelsea in 2002.

The fact that I, and many others, can recall these moments at the drop of a hat shows that the cup final truly is special and not just another one of a thousand matches on another Saturday. It is something to be cherished and held dear and celebrated. There are thousands of fans who would give anything to have the opportunity just to have a special day out at Wembley in the sunshine.

So that brings us to today’s contest which I’m sure will again be set up as some kind of David and Goliath battle between Manchester City and Crystal Palace. Of course this narrative doesn’t actually fit the reality that Palace are a firmly established top flight side and have taken a point off City in each of the last two seasons, but who am I to stand in the way of a good story.

What is true is that, although they have twice been finalists, Palace have never won the FA Cup and for a fan base which is usually one of the loudest in the Premier League it would be a truly special moment. They have some wonderful talents in the likes of Eberichi Eze and Ismaila Sarr and a proven goalscorer in Jean-Philippe Mateta so should be able to trouble City. They also have a manager in Oliver Glasner who has experience of winning trophies as he guided Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League title in 2022.

It may also play in their favour that this hasn’t exactly been a stellar season for Manchester City who have been well below their own impeccable standards. However, with this being the last chance of silverware that Pep Guardiola’s side have this year they will certainly be no pushovers. Erling Haaland has come back from injury at just the right time and Kevin De Bruyne will be looking to give himself a hero’s send off before departing in the summer.

As always, there are plenty of stories to tell and I, of course, will be watching to see what happens and to hopefully witness some special moments that I can potentially recall in another article in many years time.